"Kyle I...I can't be your boyfriend." Stan said sadly. "Why?" Kyle was eager to know. "I'm not good for you." Stan crossed his arms. "Stop saying that. If you don't want to then just say so." Kyle told him. Stan didn't mean that he didn't want to, he just thought Kyle could do a hell of a lot better. "I do want to but I just...can't. You'll get sick of me." Kyle had heard more than enough, he was sick of Stan talking himself down all the time. He'd never heard a positive comment from Stan about himself. Whoever or whatever caused this needed to leave Stan alone because all he wanted was to be happy. Kyle sensed his want for it. The redhead walked up to Stan slowly and slid his hands up both sweatshirt-covered arms.

"Can you at least think about it? Just think about it." Kyle pleaded. Stan had his answer because he didn't feel much hesitation to answer. His depression and anxiety would get in the way of their relationship. It already had. It was causing Stan to say he couldn't be Kyle boyfriend. That was the problem. "I want to get close to you." Kyle remarked softly. "It's just- I don't- I can't do this." Stan walked away from Kyle. He didn't understand what was holding this boy back from having a relationship with him. Yeah it'd only been a week but Kyle didn't honestly care.

"If it's too soon then tell me to back off." Kyle told Stan. He didn't want Kyle to back off, but he couldn't keep him waiting around for an answer forever. "Look you're just way too kind and sweet to deal with me. You'll realize what I mean sooner than you think. There's other people out there." Stan explained stressfully. "Stan I don't want another person, I want you. I don't think you're this big problem you make yourself out to be. I think I could be really good for you." Kyle started making his way toward the depressed teenager. Stan's eyes and Kyle's eyes didn't cross paths, Kyle's eyes were on Stan but Stan couldn't look at him. He just couldn't. He wanted to say yes but his depression and anxiety had built up so much he never thought he'd get the chance to be happy ever again. Here was his offer and he was pushing it away.

That wasn't him though, it was his depression. Like Kyle said, depression turns a person into someone they aren't. That fact was truthfully right. No way could that ever be a wrong statement. Out of all Kyle's boyfriend's, not one of them made Kyle feel like how Stan made him feel. He just wanted to know about this boy so he could help him in the ways he could. Whatever those ways were, he would do them. Leaving Stan alone would solve absolutely nothing. Stan needed this. He needed to be happy again, to feel happy again. "I haven't been happy in a long time." Stan noted, finally facing Kyle. "I want to make you happy." Kyle said. Stan had nothing to lose here, he was going to win something if he did do this. Kyle seemed like the person who wouldn't hurt a fly, if someone hurt him, he'd do his best to fight back but other than that he looked harmless.

"Look you don't have to answer me now, but I just want you to know that if all of what I said bothered you, I'm sorry." That's when Kyle moved over to the door to leave, "I'll see you tomorrow." The doorknob turned and out of the house Kyle went. Stan wanted to think about all of this even though he had his answer. Only one other person had said they'd wanted to be with Stan, and that was Tommy. Stan was always closed, closed in his own space. He wasn't ever the type to be open with anyone, not even his family.

Sharon witnessed most of his reactions to depression and anxiety. She'd been there his whole life and not once did she think that when he grew up he'd turn out like this. She knew it wasn't his fault. Being a single mother didn't make her feel any better about the situation, but that wasn't her main problem or priority. Her main priority was to get Stan happy. She tried sending him to therapy and to the school guidance counselor but nothing worked. He didn't ever share what caused his depression, it just remained unknown to her and kept escalating negatively. Stan apologized for a lot of things that weren't his fault that happened in the past. Sharon wasn't sure why but always told him he had nothing to be or feel sorry for.

Sharon got home at the normal time she'd been getting home at. Stan was curled up in bed with a pillow wrapped in his arms and his blankets covering the portion of his body from the stomach down. "Stan? Can you come down here for a second please?" Sharon called from the bottom of the one staircase in their new house. Stan didn't move the second he heard his mom talking. He got up hesitantly and made both feet carry him to the bottom of the stairs. "Were you sleeping? Sorry if I woke you." Sharon apologized. "I wasn't." Stan shook his head. "I wanted to ask what you're hungry for." "Not sure, what is there to eat?" Stan asked his mom. Sharon motioned Stan to come look in the cupboards and in the fridge. "We have stuff to make tacos, or there's leftover chicken from the other night. Any of those sound good?" Sharon wondered what to make. "Tacos sound good." Stan actually had a bit of an appetite for once. All that thinking made him hungry. "Okay I'll get started." Sharon began to get everything out to make dinner.

"So how was school today?" Sharon asked her son. "Fine." Stan answered sitting down at the dining room table. The salt and pepper shakers were in the center of the table and Sharon's purse was at the end of the table farthest from where Stan had sat down. "Talk to Kyle at all?" Sharon had gotten out a package of ground beef to put into the frying pan. "Yeah, we have English together first period." Stan leaned back in the chair. Kyle hadn't texted him since he left. Stan hadn't texted him either. He hoped by morning he could feel up to saying he wanted to be his boyfriend. This boy had a really happy spirit and some of that seemed to want to rub off on Stan. The tacos were ready within 15 minutes. It didn't take very long at all. Stan and Sharon sat at the dining room table to eat.

They carried on a conversation about this and that. Mostly about school and work. The minute Stan finished dinner, he put his white glass plate in the sink and went up to his room to work on homework. That project for english class was due this Friday. Kyle and Stan still had work to do on it. Mrs. Sawyer had been giving the class time to work on it in class all week and the few days last week to add on. Not everyone's project were ready but they had a few more days to do it. Stan had homework to do for 3 classes. He couldn't concentrate as much as he would have liked. Kyle was distracting him; the image of him, the words he said earlier at the area inside Stan's house near the front door.

Wednesday morning now became present. The answer never changed. It stayed as is. Stan hadn't fallen asleep till around 1:00 in the morning. He woke up feeling drowsy but not to the point where he couldn't keep his eyes open. The black haired teenager was surprised he'd gotten any sleep at all, since his kind had been pretty full for quite awhile. Stan opened up his closet door to find his outfit for the day. Some shirts were hung up but no pants. All his pairs of pants got placed in the 2 bottom drawers in the dresser when he first unpacked his bedroom. Stan decided on wearing a pair of black denim jeans with a dark gray sweatshirt. He thought about wearing his beanie but then figured not to and just threw his sweatshirt hood up over his head. The sky looked like it might cry out some rain today, so a hood would be efficient. When Stan got his socks on, he picked up his phone from the bedside where he'd left it to charge before going to sleep. He unplugged it from the charger and opened up the message conversation with Kyle.

Stan: Meet me under the bleachers before class?

Kyle: Yeah no problem

The giant gap under the bleachers was becoming their spot. The boys had met up with each other more than once. It was always dim- lighted in that one gym in the morning. Stan wasn't at the spot before Kyle once again. Kyle was texting someone when Stan approached the entrance to the gym. Kyle's head perked up to see who had walked in. It was no other than the boy he had a major crush on. His backpack was on the floor like where he always set it down when he got to the spot. Stan started walking faster toward the spot under the bleachers. He already knew what he was doing. Kyle's phone was placed in his pocket when he heard footsteps on the gym floor.

Stan's backpack landed in an unknown spot on the floor. Kyle's body got pushed into the wall, his hands crawled up to each side of Stan's face to hold onto. This kiss didn't fully answer Kyle's question but it showed a preview of the answer. Looked like a yes to Kyle but he didn't want to assume anything just yet. He didn't pull away from the pair of lips on his. He sank into the feeling. Kyle felt like he was going underwater from all these feelings Stan Marsh gave to him without even meaning to. "Yes." Stan whispered. Kyle showed off his smile to reveal to the boy in front of him how excited he was. "What made you change your mind?" Kyle asked while his fingers traced around Stan's chest. "I didn't. I never didn't want to be with you." Stan confessed. Kyle pulled on his new boyfriend's hoodie collar to lock their lips again. He wished that they could do this for the rest of the day. Just kiss and be close to each other. School was a long 7 hours every day, but that didn't stop Stan and Kyle from meeting up in between classes. For the next few days, they'd meet up at lunch, before school, after school, any spare time during the day that was available to them, they took advantage of.

Kyle told Kenny first and then the rest of the guys. Stan wasn't with him when he told them because he had a forgotten doctor's appointment on Friday morning, which was when the projects were due. Kyle had it with him because Stan had told him about it on Thursday night when Sharon let her son know about it. It was finished. All Kyle had to do was hand it in to Mrs. Sawyer. The plan was to present them on Friday but then Mrs. Sawyer had been notified by 2 students in the class who weren't completely finished with their project. She announced to the entire class that the projects were due today but would be presented on Monday morning. Kyle was relieved; he had really bad public speaking anxiety, which had gotten much better from when he was little but still stood as a bit of threat to him in his own opinion. Since Stan had to get a new doctor, Sharon had been talking to Dr. Connell through email for a couple weeks. She had searched up doctors in South Park before her and Stan moved.

She told him about his depression and anxiety. At the doctor's appointment, Dr. Connell introduces himself and asked Stan how his depression and anxiety were since he'd gotten a stronger medicine dose prescribed for him. He said it had gotten a bit better, only because of Kyle of course. Stan hadn't told his mom he was dating Kyle, it was only two days after he'd agreed to be Kyle's boyfriend. Dr. Connell did ask why he had been feeling a bit better. Sharon had stayed out in the waiting room. Stan told him about Kyle and how he'd made him very happy since they'd met.

Dr. Connell was very pleased to hear this. He talked a little more with Stan just to get to know his new patient a little bit more. After the appointment, Sharon drove Stan to school. First period was already over, so Stan wouldn't see Kyle until lunch. Stan's phone went off when he walked into South Park High, alerting him that Kyle had sent him a text.

Kyle: Hey are you here yet?

Stan: Yep just walked in

Kyle: Okay I'll see you at lunch then :) you can tell me what happened at the doctor

Stan: Sure see you then

Time didn't matter. For these two boys who had found each other, they didn't have everything in common, which was totally okay. They'd get to know even more about each other. Kyle had brought a lot out of Stan. To Stan's own surprise, he never thought someone could get him to talk as much as he did now with Kyle. He never wanted to share his life stories with anyone, he felt nobody would ever care. Then he met Kyle and it all changed. His thoughts, feelings, how many words he said each day. That all changed. Kyle had many boyfriends in the past, Stan only had one. Any one of those "boyfriends" Kyle ever had didn't even compare to Stan in the slightest. Not even close.